A Day In The Life Of An Omega
by TheDarkWraith
Summary: The first(God willing) of my Resident Evil: Omega Force series.
1. Chapter One: Groceries

**A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN OMEGA**

**By The Dark Wraith**

**Notes: This story is by no means based solely on Resident Evil. I believe that RE didn't spring fully formed from the minds of the creative team at Capcom. And so this story owes its existence to a number of sources. Some of those sources are perhaps instantly recognizable to readers. In any case, thanks to all the touchstones of this particular expression of my creativity.**

**CHAPTER ONE: Groceries**

Daniel tapped his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the music playing on his AMUV's radio. Normally he would be tuned in to whatever overseas stations his radio could pick up; however, he finally found a CD that he'd been looking for since he was in college and he was giving it a spin. After all, it had been a while since he'd listened to some good rock and roll.

He came to an intersection with traffic lights that still worked. Out of habit, he stopped when the light turned red. He looked around even if he knew there could possibly be no traffic coming from anywhere. Once the light turned green, he proceeded cautiously to the other side of the intersection. As he passed by an abandoned church, he noticed that it was already nearing noontime. A small grumble came from his stomach. Daniel smiled. _I guess a lunch break wouldn't be so bad,_ he thought.

"All Omegas," he spoke into his headset mike, "this is Bravo Thirteen. It's chow time, over."

"Bravo Thirteen, this is Bravo Eighteen—acknowledged. Anything happened on your patrol so far?" a voice answered.

"Negative. Manila's quiet. How's your patrol, Eighteen?"

"Ran into some dead men walking a couple of hours ago, Thirteen. Nothing major, though."

"Are there any survivors in your area?"

"Negative, Thirteen. Survivors aren't really expected in this area." Daniel nodded grimly at Bravo Eighteen's statement. Another reason why he hated Umbrella…he thought of Payatas' squatter colony. They made their living—if you could call it a living—scavenging the trash that came to the Payatas landfill. Then Umbrella came around, distributing their high-nutrition food products as part of their "poverty alleviation program" in Metro Manila. At first, it seemed as if Umbrella were miracle workers. The mortality rate among people living in Payatas went down and they seemed to have significantly boosted their immunity to disease. Children were no longer dying by the dozen every day.

At least, they weren't dying yet. That didn't happen until a year later—that and all the rest of the horror.

Daniel shook his head to clear his mind of the anger that was building inside him. It was always there and the object of his anger was always the same: Umbrella. That was why he gladly joined Omega, despite being warned of all the dangers that came with the job. And that was why he asked to be assigned to the Philippines. Umbrella had destroyed his home. Therefore, he would do anything to reclaim it and make it livable again. And if he ever ran into anyone from Umbrella within his home turf, well, nobody told him he wasn't allowed to extract a little restitution.

"Hey, Daniel," Eighteen said. "You still there, _pare?_"

"Yeah," Daniel replied. "Keep looking anyway, buddy."

"Copy that, Thirteen. Over and out."

"Out," Daniel responded. He turned left at the next street that he came to as he went past a smaller intersection. He saw a couple of wrecked jeepneys. The first time he'd seen jeepneys abandoned and burned in the streets of Manila, he felt sick to his stomach. Manila without jeepneys plying the streets was unthinkable; it was unreal. He still wasn't used to the sight of it.

He drove on until he came to a grocery store. Like the church he'd passed, it was abandoned. Wrecked vehicles lay nearby but didn't obstruct his path or his line of sight. There were no dead men walking in front of the place but that didn't stop him from parking the AMUV as close as possible to the grocery store. Before disembarking, he went picked up his "tools": a 9mm. pistol with a silencer, a MAC-10 Ingram, and several clips of ammunition for both guns. He tucked them inside his trench coat—something that the other Omegas he was serving with never failed to kid him about, after all why wear a trench coat in a tropical country?—and then went inside the grocery store.

Miraculously enough, the doors were intact. _Shatterproof glass—good,_ Daniel remarked silently. He'd take note of that; perhaps he could add this store to his list of "supply depots". He grabbed a big cart and began to comb the aisles, methodically checking the expiry dates of the items he picked off the shelves.

As Daniel made his way towards the right side of the store, a zombie noticed his passing and began to shamble after him. A second one spotted him as well, followed by a third as he obliviously went by, whistling the Def Leppard song that he'd been listening to inside the AMUV.

He stopped at the aisle where the various oils were stacked. He selected a bottle of olive oil and soya oil and placed them into his cart. His eyes found the sesame oils and he went over to inspect the different brands.

The third zombie that had spotted him rounded the corner of the aisle Daniel was in and made its way towards him, letting out little mindless growls. It came closer to its unsuspecting prey, raising its arms to grab it…

The pistol made a small noise, like a polite cough. The zombie fell with a hole in its head. Daniel calmly put the bottle of sesame oil in his cart. The second zombie appeared within the range of his peripheral vision. Effortlessly, he fired at it and felled it. He began to make his way towards the second central aisle between the shelves. Just as he was walking towards the aisle behind the oils, the first zombie showed up behind him. Daniel heard it—smelled it too. He whirled around with an economy of movement and shot it in the head.

With that business taken care of, Daniel turned towards the ice cream bin. He hoped that there was Rocky Road. He felt like a double helping of Rocky Road after lunch today.

He was sorting through the selections in the ice cream bin when he heard something—a stealthy noise coming from the back of the store. Daniel left his cart by the bin and went to investigate. He soon found out what had made the noise. It was a zombie coming through the open emergency exit. Daniel waited for it to enter the store all the way in and then approached it quickly and quietly. The gun coughed politely once more and the zombie collapsed onto the floor almost soundlessly. He made for the door and peered outside. There were eight more dead people walking outside; luckily for him, they were the slow-moving, slow-witted type.

Daniel retreated back into the store and locked the door. Then he went back to his cart and resumed his search for his chosen dessert. He found a half-gallon container and added it to the supplies in his cart. With his shopping done, he spoke into his personal communicator. "Would you please bring the rear doors as close as possible to the main doors of the grocery, Road Warrior? And please activate defenses," he said as he walked towards the checkout lanes. He was almost near them when he saw a pip of movement to his right. Four zombies lurching—no trotting—no _running_ towards him. Daniel instinctively grabbed an empty cart and ran towards the creatures full-tilt. The cart struck the two zombies in the lead and sent them flying against the two behind them. As they struggled to get up, he finished them off with headshots. With the creatures lying permanently dead on the floor, he went off in the direction the creatures had come from. It was the grocery's storage area. Daniel put his pistol aside, brought out his Ingram, and walked into the storage area. There were boxes piled there—dish detergent, disposable plates, canned goods, soda bottles, among other things. Daniel hugged the near wall, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the storage area. If it was dark, that meant that there was no outside light coming in. Good—that meant that the loading bay doors were most likely closed. He hoped that they were locked from the inside.

A smell hit his nostrils—decomposing flesh and blood. Like a bloodhound, Daniel tracked the smell to its source. It was coming from some point near the loading bay doors. His Ingram waited expectantly in his hands, the black silencer seeming to grow larger as he came closer to the spot where the stench was getting stronger. Daniel crept in and out of the boxes piled around him. He could see well enough now; his eyes were now on "visual purple", in the lingo of Special Forces troops.

_Here,_ his mind whispered. He'd reached the source of the stench. He heard no movement, saw nothing trying to sneak up on him. Daniel's hand went inside his trench coat and pulled out a small flashlight. He switched it on and immediately saw the source of the rotten scent he'd been sniffing out. A few feet away from him, on the floor, lay two or perhaps three bodies. One was wearing a security guard's distinctive blue and white uniform. The other two had t-shirts that bore the grocery store's logo—baggers or something like that, most likely. From their appearance, it looked like the four runner zombies had been dining on them before they decided to include him in the menu. He stepped closer, index finger resting lightly on the Ingram's trigger, but he soon saw that there would be no need for anymore shooting. The bodies on the floor were just that—bodies. They appeared to have suffered head trauma. The most obvious source was the revolver still held in the guard's hand. Daniel tried to pull it off but the guard kept a death grip on his weapon. _Probably killed themselves when they say that they didn't have a prayer of making it out. _Speaking of prayers…he knelt down in front of the three corpses and said a quick prayer, asking God to bless and keep their souls. When he was done, he checked the loading bay doors and found them shut but not locked. He went back into the store, to the hardware section. He picked out five padlocks. He used the first one for the loading bay doors. Then he returned to his neglected cart. Outside, the AMUV—which he affectionately called "The Road Warrior"—was backed up towards the grocery's front doors.

Daniel brought his cart to the front and pulled the doors back. "Please open the rear doors, Road Warrior," he said into his communicator. The AMUV did as it was told. Daniel began to load the supplies into his vehicle. As he was halfway through his task, the mini-gun mounted on top of The Road Warrior came to life. The eight zombies that had been prowling the back of the grocery store had either heard Road Warrior's engine or had just come up front to see if anything edible had strayed within reach. The Road Warrior easily took care of them. Daniel finished loading up his groceries; he wanted to lock down the grocery. Dead bodies aside, it was stocked well enough as a supply depot. He'd return to decontaminate the place later, telling The Road Warrior to note the store's location on their maps.

He closed the rear doors and began pulling down the steel blinds that were used to keep unwanted intruders from breaking into the store. Road Warrior put up a fire-for-effect defensive screen around him as he went about his task. The new padlocks were put in place. Daniel matched each key to each lock in his head, memorizing the brands of the locks and keys and their shapes. He was just snapping the last lock on the front door's blinds when The Road Warrior let loose a couple of long bursts from the mini-gun. He didn't bother to look at what his vehicle had been firing at; he could hear the sounds of running feet and hungry groans perfectly well. Once the lock was fastened, he got up, went to The Road Warrior's driver's-side door, and went inside. It was only when he was up in the cockpit that he got to see what was trying to get to him—more runner zombies. Road Warrior had taken care of twelve of them but there were about ten or twelve more coming from the left.

"Sorry, people," he said, putting The Road Warrior in gear, "I've got to grab me a bite to eat now and you're wasting my chow time." The AMUV rumbled forward. Those zombies who tried to block its way were simply crushed underneath the vehicle's big wheels. The others were hurled aside as The Road Warrior picked up speed and collided with them. As they left the zombies behind them, Daniel hoped that he could find a park or someplace like that where he could enjoy the scenery as he ate. He always felt better taking his lunch or dinner surrounded by nice views whenever he was on patrol.


	2. Chapter Two: There Went The Lunch Break

**CHAPTER TWO: There Went The Lunch Break**

Daniel puttered around in front of the tiny galley that was set up inside his AMUV's rear quarters. "Galley" was actually a very generous term for it—it was basically a gas range similar to the ones found in small apartments in Metro Manila. Next to it was a personal refrigeration unit with storage shelves above it for food containers and such, as well as a microwave oven. The cookware, flatware, and silverware came from a combination PX-discount-and-surplus store in one of the safe zones that he'd last visited.

Omega High Command had allowed him to modify his AMUV in this manner when he'd made it clear that, while he was willing to fight all the zombies, mutants, and whatever other creatures he'd run into out on patrol, he was not going to subsist solely on MRE's. He'd just as soon turn zombie and eat human flesh than eat MRE's for an extended period of time. The other Omegas agreed with him; hence, they had all taken to staking out their own supply depots consisting of secure eating places, grocery stores, and markets.

The aroma of sautéing garlic and onions filled the rear quarters. He'd always loved garlic rice; luckily, he had the necessary ingredients in store. A grateful band of survivors had given him some of their own provisions after he'd gotten them to an Omega outpost where they were eventually evacuated. Among their provisions were garlic, onions, and rice. At first, Daniel had tried to dissuade them from giving him their provisions but they had eventually prevailed upon him. Now he was glad that they had persisted. As he mixed the rice into the onions and garlic, he smiled. It was as if he was home again. He'd always liked cooking; he might not have been good enough to work in a fancy restaurant but he did make it as second cook at the _pares_ joint he'd patronized for most of his life. Thinking of his favorite eating place reminded him that it had been a while since he'd checked up on it. He decided to go there for dinner tonight. Like the grocery store he'd come from, he had fortified it and kept it stocked, especially after he'd spent time at Omega Base.

A discreet beep came from the cab as Daniel was putting the finishing touches on his rice. He gave it one last stirring and covered it, after which he turned off the stove. Then he went up to the cab. _All right,_ he thought. The Road Warrior was coming up to a fairly nice place to eat. It was a small park in front of a church—Nuestra Seńora De Guia, according to the name in front. The armored beast he was riding wouldn't fit in any of the side streets but he supposed he could park The Road Warrior anywhere he wanted since there wasn't any traffic, anyway. He didn't want to park inside the church lot; that was within walking distance of the park—or the plaza, he guessed it was—but a short distance was all a runner zombie needed to get in close enough to snack on someone, even if he was armed. He parked the AMUV directly behind the plaza, across the street from the church. He picked up his guns—the pistol was reloaded already—and added a shotgun to them. Then he went to the galley and brought the entire pan of fried rice with him outside. Selecting a shady spot with a good vantage point and close enough to The Road Warrior, he sat down, took off the cover, and enjoyed the savory scent of fried rice as it wafted up from the pan.

That was when another smell came. He stood up from where he sat, shotgun ready. The Road Warrior's mini-gun was also primed for action, as if it could sense his tension. His eyes scanned his environment. When had he last smelled that smell? His mind told him in a detached way that if he wasn't imagining things, there was no way that could be a zombie because zombies didn't know how to—

He heard the faint sound of a bicycle chain coming from somewhere to his left. He took cover near the table he'd been occupying and aimed his shotgun in that direction. He whispered directions to the AMUV; the mini-gun made the necessary move. Daniel waited, his eyes fixed towards the target area. He could almost imagine a horde of zombies stampeding madly towards him, wanting to turn him into lunch. Well, he was going to take as many of them as he could and then, if he fell, The Road Warrior would immediately self-destruct, taking whatever was left.

He glimpsed movement coming from one a shadowed side street to his left. It didn't look like a zombie…it wasn't lurching or running towards him…it was moving steadily…it looked like…the sound of a squeaking bicycle chain came to his ears again. And the smell…_no way, it couldn't be, _Daniel told himself. Was it really a…? Just as he was going to stand up and call out, he saw two or three arms shoot out from a door to the right of the figure moving in his direction. An unmistakable human voice—an unmistakably _female _human voice shouted out, "Fuck! Fuck!" Daniel got up and ran to the rescue, giving instructions to The Road Warrior as he moved. The AMUV's roof opened up and a small UAV followed Daniel into action.

_She's lucky,_ Daniel thought as he entered the fray before him. The zombies that were reaching for the girl couldn't knock down the steel back door of the building they had occupied. That gave the girl time to pull out what looked like a homemade handgun. She took aim at the arms trying to grab hold of her from the small window that was set in the door but didn't fire. She could see that the door was holding them back. Still, Daniel knew that those things would eventually think of exiting by the front door or maybe the front window. The place the zombies had chosen to hide in was a restaurant, from what he had seen. The wraparound window facing the street was already broken in one, maybe two places.

"Miss! Miss!" he called out. "Back away from there, please!" Without thinking twice, she did. Daniel decided not to use his shotgun. He spoke into his comm unit: "Target acquire!" He waited a few seconds before delivering a second order: "Fire!" He motioned for the girl to move out of the way and she did. A burst of narrow light came from the UAV and sliced through the zombies' arms without difficulty. The severed limbs fell to the street with minimal mess.

"Come on, miss!" he gestured towards The Road Warrior. "This way!" The girl ran past him, taking along her bike with a side-mounted cart. The UAV covered her. Daniel brought up the rear. They ran for the AMUV, knowing that the zombies wouldn't be too happy about losing their limbs and their lunch. They were proven right as the creatures stumbled their way out of the restaurant they had been lurking in for most of the day. The Road Warrior opened fire, obliterating anything that came into the mini-gun's range. Daniel hustled the girl over to the back of the AMUV. "Open rear doors, Road Warrior!" he commanded the vehicle.

"I take it you don't want to leave your bike, right?" he asked the girl.

"No way!" she told him.

"Okay, can you dismantle it somehow? Or at least take the cart off?"

"Yeah."

"Do it." Daniel looked up at the UAV hovering above them. "Keep her covered." Then he went over to the front of the AMUV. The mini-gun had taken care of the zombies from the restaurant but where there were some...he heard a noise coming from the church. Instantly, he crouched into a combat position, bringing up the shotgun. Six or seven zombies were making their way down the church lot—runners, this time. The mini-gun swiveled and fired. No more zombies. He ran back to the back of the vehicle in time to see the girl attempting to load her cart into the rear quarters.

"Leave the LGP tank and the cart! I'll get you another!" he told her. He'd spotted movement from the 7-11 and the Wendy's nearby and he didn't want to stay long enough to find out what kind of zombies those were.

"But I've got things in the cart—" she began but Daniel cut her off. "Grab them and leave the rest!" The girl looked like she was going to argue the topic but the sound of breaking glass changed her mind. Daniel again told the UAV to cover the girl. He ran back to the plaza, shotgun aimed at the Wendy's. He grabbed his neglected frying pan and ran back to the AMUV. The first few zombies were shuffling out of the Wendy's and heading in his direction.

"Done?" he asked the girl. She nodded. "Get in—quick!" She climbed aboard the AMUV. "Take this." He handed her the frying pan. "And this!" Gingerly he reached for something that had been atop the cart. He wasn't going through a screwed-up lunch break without something for all his troubles. "Careful," he admonished her. She took the object in his hands. "Put it on the stove!"

The flash of the UAV's laser told him that the zombies had gotten within firing range. He fired his shotgun and took out two in one blast. He gave the abandoned cart a good shove, bringing it closer to the hungry creatures pursuing him. Then he took aim as he retreated back into the vehicle, ordering The Road Warrior to shut the doors once he was inside. His next shot hit the cart right about where he expected the LPG tank to be. A small explosion took out three or four zombies. He rolled into the AMUV's rear quarters, avoiding shrapnel as best as he could. The UAV flitted into the vehicle close behind him. With the doors secure, Daniel ran to the cab. "Road Warrior, let's get the hell out of here!" he said. As if in agreement, The Road Warrior's engine came to life. The remaining zombies surrounded the vehicle, attempting to shake it and turn it over but the AMUV was too well-centered for them. Daniel decided to give them a little surprise. He flicked a switch on the dashboard. Instantly, several hundred volts' worth of electricity flooded into the zombies trying to restrain the AMUV. Some jittered off the vehicle; others burst into flame. Daniel smiled. A few seconds longer and he could have toasted them. But that was enough. The Road Warrior moved forward, crushing a few zombies that had fallen in its path. The engine revved up and soon the zombies were left behind, still stunned by the electric charge that the AMUV's defenses had unleashed upon them.

Daniel sat in the driver's seat, letting the vehicle travel on its own. _Damn, that's no way to spend your lunch break,_ he thought. Only then did it occur to him that his food was still intact and maybe he would even have some more to go with it. Plus he had a lunch guest. Perhaps that wasn't so bad. He smiled; maybe his break wouldn't go completely to waste. He gripped the steering wheel and told The Road Warrior to let him drive. All he needed now was some peace and quiet so that he could share the comforts of his rolling, armored abode with his guest. He discovered that he was actually eager to sit down with his guest. It had been a while since he and the other Omegas had sat down together to a meal. This would be a nice change of pace.

His disposition improved, Daniel started consulting his maps for a nice place to park and continue his interrupted luncheon.


	3. Chapter Three: The Guest

**CHAPTER THREE: The Guest**

The Road Warrior moved undisturbed through the streets of Mabini, heading for Malate. _Maybe dead men walking don't like the heat here,_ Daniel thought offhandedly. It was summer already in this part of the world and the heat that came with it could be crippling at times. Given the hole in the ozone layer, Daniel was surprised and grateful that the Philippines hadn't sunk underwater yet from all the icebergs that had melted over the past few decades. That was one thing the Umbrella plague was good for, he guessed; with less people to contribute to global warming, the hole in the ozone layer would probably remain stable for the next few decades. Maybe _Kumander_ Ashford (his term of endearment for his employer/GCO) and her scientists could find a way to replenish the ozone layer aside from finding a permanent cure for the plague. Although, technically, he reminded himself with a wry smile on his face, there already _was_ a permanent cure—Omega, Bravo, Alpha, and all the other Special Ops squads (formerly known as S.T.A.R.S.) used them on the zombies on a regular basis. The cure came in a wide variety of calibers and millimeters.

Daniel got up from the driver's chair with a chuckle and went to the rear quarters to check on his guest. He found her rummaging through what was left of her belongings. Her bike was leaning close by against one of the storage lockers. From all appearances, she was young—maybe no more than nineteen or twenty, at most. She had been wearing her hair underneath her cap but now it hung down past her shoulders. Her skin had been shaded a nice brown by the sun. She was slender but in an athletic way from all the cycling she did. Or use to do, he thought. It would be a while before she could tool around on her bike again.

"Got everything important?" he asked from where he stood.

"Yeah, looks like I did," she replied, looking up from what she'd been doing. "I put the pans on the stove just like you said."

Daniel looked over and saw his pan and hers sitting next to each other on adjacent burners. He approached the stove and bent down slightly to sniff the food in her pan. A smile came to his face; Lord knew it had been a long time since he'd gotten a good whiff of fish balls, squid balls, and _kikiam_. She'd already removed them from the oil that they'd been frying in and placed them right above the pan on a wire-mesh strainer to let the excess oil drip off them.

"Nice," he remarked. "You were planning to sell these?"

"Uh-huh," she said. "I was almost done with my rationing for the morning when those things attacked me. Thanks for helping me."

"You're welcome," he said, going over to her. "My name's Daniel, by the way." He held out his hand. She took it and gave it a brief shake. "I'm Tricia," she answered him. "Where can I put these?" She gestured at the things she'd salvaged from her obliterated cart.

"Ref's near by the stove. There's still space for those. Sorry about the LPG. I meant what I said, though. I'll replace it and the cart once we get to a safe area."

"Okay." Tricia went to the fridge with an armload of stuff and began placing each item inside. "I trust you. You're one of those SWAT guys, right?"

"Close but not quite. I'm with Omega Squad." Daniel took off his trench coat and hung it in front of the sleeping berth. He kept his body armor on. He rarely, if ever, took it off whenever he was on patrol. The pistol stayed with him as well. The Ingram and the shotgun were at the ready near the driver's-side door. "You say you were rationing your food?"

"Yes. There are still some people left back where you found me. They stay hidden, of course, so that those things don't find them." Tricia took the lid off the pan of fried rice and looked at it approvingly. "You made this?"

"Yup. I was going to eat it at that plaza in front of Nuestra Seńora De Guia when the dead men walking showed up."

"Well…I'm hungry myself," Tricia admitted. "Tell you what—I'll trade you half of my food for half of your rice."

Daniel made a counteroffer: "What say we just share it? I've still got about half and hour or so left for my lunch break anyway. Or I can just pay for whatever I eat. What say, Tricia?"

Tricia thought it over for a few moments. "Okay—let's just share it. You did save my life."

"Deal," Daniel said and they shook on it. Just then, The Road Warrior beeped a discreet alert. "Come on up to the cockpit and let's see what we've got. I told Road Warrior to find a safe place to eat. I guess he found one."

"Okay," Tricia said. She followed Daniel as he exited the rear quarters and went up front. He motioned towards the passenger's seat. Tricia sat down, looking out at their surroundings. From what she could see, they were nearing Malate Church. She could see the plaza, much larger than the one in front of Nuestra Seńora De Guia. Beyond that was the Baywalk that had made the city government so proud. She smiled a little at that thought. The Baywalk was always full of people who were always willing to buy the food she sold. And even when she went there without her cart, she always enjoyed riding her bike while watching the sun go down Manila Bay with a fiery golden trail. Of course, she reminded herself, that was before all the trouble with the zombies started. Now, the place was deserted, the cafēs were boarded shut or ruined, and the people—the ones who weren't infected with the virus that made them keep on living after they were supposed to be dead—were all gone.

"Looks clear..." Daniel was saying beside her. "Where do you want to eat—the plaza or the Baywalk?"

"The Baywalk," Tricia said, wiping a tear from her eye.

Daniel pointed the AMUV towards the Baywalk. Tricia had fallen silent and he could pretty much imagine what she was thinking. He'd also been saddened when he saw the Baywalk upon returning to Manila. It was one of the first places he'd gone to when he went on his first night patrol. The place was still fairly well-lit but instead of strollers and tourists, he'd seen zombies prowling for a meal. As he could recall, The Road Warrior had used up half of its ammunition as he cleared the place of every non-human or non-living thing that was within firing range. If only Omega Squad could secure this place on a permanent basis…oh, well. He shrugged slightly. Whenever he came here, he cleaned it up anyway.

A few moments later, The Road Warrior was parked along Roxas Boulevard, mini-gun at the ready. Daniel and Tricia picked a bench underneath a coconut tree that still had enough leaves to afford them some shade. Their food had been transferred to Tupperware containers that sat between them, along with a one-liter bottle of Coca-Cola and two plastic cups. Their weapons were hidden but could be deployed when needed.

"This fried rice is good!" Tricia said, helping herself to a couple of serving spoons' worth. "You cooked this in your truck?"

'Yeah, glad you like it," Daniel said. "The galley's small but it serves my purposes. I got the rice and onions and garlic from some people that I helped out a couple of months ago." He forked two _kikiam _onto his plate. "Man, this is like heaven. I haven't eaten _kikiam_, fish balls, or squid balls for a while now!"

"Those are proudly Binondo-made," Tricia told him, smiling. She took a sip from her soda.

"No wonder they're good." Daniel ate thoughtfully for several moments, savoring his lunch. _The other Omegas are going to be so jealous when they find out about this_, he told himself.

"So, Daniel, have you run into any other people today?" Tricia asked him after a while.

"Well…yeah…" he replied, thinking back to the grocery store he'd bought his supplies from. "But they won't be going anywhere anymore."

Tricia got what he meant immediately. "Was it bad?" she asked.Daniel only shrugged; he didn't want to ruin either of their appetites.

"So I'm the only living person you've met so far."

"That's right. And I guess it's a good thing I did. Otherwise, I'd never have gotten to eat fish balls again."

"You really missed eating fish balls, huh?"

"I was born and raised in Manila," Daniel explained, putting his rice bowl down. "You can take the boy out of Manila but you can never take Manila out of the boy. And any true Manileńo worth calling that grew up eating fish balls, squid balls, and _kikiam_. "

Tricia had to laugh at that one. "I guess you're right. It's one of those things that makes us Manileńos. I was born and raised here myself. Well, in Caloocan, anyway. But then we moved here." She took another drink of her Coke. "So what's it like being part of…what did you call it—Omega Squad?"

"Well, Omega's pretty new compared to Alpha and Bravo and all the other squads. That was the core group of the old S.T.A.R.S.—yeah, the original Special Forces who faced off against the zombies, mutants, and every other creature that came out of Umbrella's labs. Alpha and Bravo were the ones who got sent in to fight those things off and rescue people in the danger zones. They were actually supplied and, sometimes, even trained by Umbrella back then. Usually they were from the SWAT units from local police forces but Umbrella also hired ex-soldiers and mercenaries. Have you heard of Carlos Oliveira?"

Tricia nodded. When the plague had begun shutting everything down in the Philippines, Carlos Oliveira personally led some of the more daring raids on Umbrella's facilities, knocking out virus-production labs and taking out a large number of creatures released deliberately by Umbrella onto the general populace. Oliveira had also been in the thick of the rescue operations that had saved many Filipinos when the plague was burning out of control. "He's with you guys, right?"

"Yeah, and thank God for that because he's a serious Special Operator. He used to be with Umbrella Security; they recruited him after seeing him in action when he was still a mercenary. But then he saw what they were really doing, he turned on them. Right now, he's Commander Ashford's right-hand-man. I saw him face-to-face for the first time during training." Even now, Daniel could remember Commander Oliveira's intimidating yet, at the same time, inspiring presence as he told them about the nature of their mission and the training that they would be undergoing to prepare them for the hazards that awaited them. Oliveira had supervised and, at times, even conducted their training himself. He didn't want the Omegas to be at anything less than one-hundred-percent readiness.

"So what is it that Omega does if Alpha and Bravo do the fighting and the rescuing?" Tricia asked.

"Well, we're the ones who have to go back and make sure that nobody got left behind." Daniel explained. "And then we try to find out if we can take back the danger zones from Umbrella."

He put his empty rice bowl down on the bench. "And from what you've told me, there are still survivors in this area of Manila. That means I've got to get them to a safe zone before they get turned into zombies themselves. I plan to do just that…with your help, Tricia."

"Huh?" Tricia gaped at him. "Why would you need my help? Aren't your other squad members supposed to be the ones helping you?"

"For starters, you know this area better than they do—you've got ground-level intelligence. You know where the survivors are. Plus you know how to handle yourself in a tight situation and you know when you need help in a tight situation. That's why I want you in on this mission."

Tricia was silent for several long moments. True, she did know the area well since she'd been plying the routes as a fish ball vendor when things were still normal. And she did know where the survivors were located. But she had to admit, this was still a bit more assistance than she would have expected him to ask.

"Besides, I owe you for the good meal I just had," Daniel added with a smile.

Tricia looked at him and then out at Manila Bay. She remembered how happy the Baywalk used to be; how happy all of Manila used to be. Well, maybe not happy but it certainly wasn't what it was now—a tomb. One huge version of the North Cemetery, except for the fact that none of the dead were resting in peace because Umbrella had robbed them of everything, down to their right to die as human beings. They were even worse than the grave robbers at the North Cemetery, now that she thought about it.

Tricia looked Daniel in the eye. Her decision was made.

"Okay. I'll help you get them out," she said in a quiet, even voice. "But we have to do it as soon as possible. Just promise me you won't let anything happen to them."

"I promise—nothing will happen to them or to you," Daniel said solemnly. "We'll get them out tonight. Deal?"

"Deal," Tricia told him. And with that, they sealed their agreement.


	4. Chapter Four: Mad Dragon

**CHAPTER FOUR: Mad Dragon**

At a little before six in the evening, The Road Warrior entered a condominium that had long since been vacated by its previous occupants. Omega Squad had appropriated it as one of their command posts after clearing the place floor-by-floor of any Umbrella creations. They'd lost four of their own during that fight and so they came to call it Command Post "Mad Dragon"—the nickname being an acronym for their four fallen comrades-in-arms: Jimmy Maderazo, Erika Drilon, Mina Agustin, and Fred Onse.

Once they'd "sanitized" the building, Command Post Mad Dragon turned out to be a fairly ideal ops base. Aside from the abundance of rooms, it also had a business center complete with computers, faxes, and phones, as well as a twenty-four-hour grocery store. Of course, Omega Squad had to make the place defensible so all the windows had been covered by armored blinds and the entry and exit points were all secured with heavy-duty electronic gates. Cameras kept an eye on the streets and the interior of the building.

The Road Warrior came to a halt at the topmost parking level just beneath the residence floors. Tricia looked out the windshield as Daniel killed the AMUV's engine. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Command Post Mad Dragon," Daniel said proudly. "This was one of the first bases Omega Squad established in Manila." He got up from the driver's seat. "Come on. I'll show you around a bit." He led her out of The Road Warrior and inside Mad Dragon. Tricia noted the security cameras watching the access door and the electronic lock that kept it sealed until Daniel entered the proper code. Apparently, Daniel and his friends weren't about to let this place fall into the wrong hands.

"Why is it called Mad Dragon?" Tricia asked as Daniel took her on a short tour of the place.

"It's taken from the family names of four members of our squad. They were killed in action while we were ridding this place of zombies and mutants." Daniel told her. He saw that they were on the floor that the Omegas had designated as their barracks. Daniel took her inside an unoccupied room. He offered her a drink from the fridge but she declined politely. Daniel waved her to a sofa while he took a chair. Then he proceeded to recount the story of Mad Dragon's liberation. Daniel thought back to the desperate battles that had taken place in the command post, remembering the sound of gunfire, explosions, and screams. He remembered the smell of blood, vomit, and decomposing flesh. He remembered the sight of zombies, mutants, and other inhuman creatures coming at them and the bodies of the dead Omegas that had fought them.

Fred Onse had been the first of their four comrades-in-arms to fall when he attacked one of those quadrupedal, long-tongued, eyeless mutants that were crawling towards them from the ceiling in the fifth-floor hallway. The mutant had been getting ready to snack on one of the Omegas—if he remembered correctly, it had been Herman Torrijos, their communications man—when Fred had tackled it and then fought it singlehandedly. He emptied his guns into the thing and, when it still didn't want to die, he used his knife and anti-personnel baton. Herman Torrijos had recovered by that time and had blasted the mutant into a red smear with his assault rifle. By that time, the creature was already dying—along with Fred, who died with that trademark crazy grin plastered on his face and his remaining hand curled into a permanent thumbs-up sign.

The next to die was Erika Drilon, one of their medics. She had been tailed by something that looked like a spider but wasn't a spider while she was dragging a wounded Omega out of harm's way on the eighth floor. Once it came within striking distance, it pounced upon her and began to sting and eat her at the same time. With every ounce of her strength, she had wounded it with her sidearm before detonating a grenade that had destroyed the spider-thing, along with two others like it that had joined the festivities. That had been a hard one for Daniel to take; he and Erika had been dating and he had been working up the courage to ask her to go steady with him. He still kept Erika's dog tags around his neck as a reminder of her sacrifice so that, when the time came, he would have the courage to do the same thing for his friends.

Jimmy Maderazo, Erika's cousin, had been outraged by her death. He went berserk and charged an entire line of zombies with all the rage and pain he carried after watching Erika get carried out in a body bag. Daniel had run after him, shooting at everything that wasn't wearing a uniform. Together, he and Jimmy cleared almost four upper floors by themselves, picking up weapons where they found them. For a while, it looked as if nothing would stop Jimmy's suicide charge and the other Omegas had drawn inspiration from him, charging behind him. Jimmy finally met his end at the tenth floor. Surrounded by zombies and cut off from Daniel, he took the same way out as Erika: a well-timed grenade explosion that had cleared half of the remaining zombies in the tenth floor. Daniel had taken care of the rest, using what remained of Jimmy's weaponry.

Mina Agustin, their lieutenant commander, had the hardest death, Daniel reflected. She had remained unscathed all throughout the battle despite being in the thick of it most of the time. She led them well and with care. Lt. Agustin pushed Omega Squad forward when they had the advantage and called a retreat when they were outnumbered. She didn't consider it courage to commit suicide when they needed every man and woman in the squad to accomplish their mission. She had even tried to stop Jimmy Maderazo from going kamikaze but, deep down, she understood him and even considered recommending Jimmy for a posthumous citation upon returning to Omega Base. Unfortunately, she had been unable to do so. When Omega Squad had reached the roof of the condominium, a zombie had ambushed Lt. Agustin and taken a sizable bite out of her exposed forearm. Knowing all too well what the result of her one and only battle wound would be, she opted for a quicker way out. Daniel sometimes felt that he could still hear the gunshot from her sidearm as she pointed it at her head and pulled the trigger.

Tricia was silent as Daniel wrapped up his story. Four people had lost their lives in the battle for this piece of Manila. Undoubtedly, more would be lost as Omega Squad went about their job, trying to reclaim the country back from Umbrella's plague, city by city, street by street. She looked at Daniel as he sat in his chair, eyes staring at the floor of the room, plainly thinking of his friends, both alive and dead. She got up off the sofa and went to him. Wordlessly, she kissed him on the cheek from behind and hugged him.

"What's that for?" Daniel asked as she stepped back.

"Just to say thanks…for deciding to rescue those people I told you about. And for rescuing me," Tricia told him.

"Well…you're welcome. Don't mention it. It's my duty, after all." He got up from his chair and gestured at the vacant bed. "Get some rest, okay? We're going to have a busy night, I think."

"Okay. Thanks." Tricia sat down on the edge of the bed and began to undo her shoelaces. Daniel gave her one last look and then exited the room. He had some preparations to make for tonight. He could use some rest himself but that could wait until after he was done.


End file.
